In reply to ladysharlyne (msg # 21):

If a player has sufficient interest in the game, they'll stay involved; irregardless of how real life is treating them.   I've had players going through all sorts of real life issues yet choose to stay in the game anyways.

Being disabled myself, I understand why someone might feel uncomfortable speaking up.   Either in regards to leaving or to closing a game.   Sometimes, it's just easier to not say anything and simply disappear; rather than facing a circumstance that we'd rather not.

I struggle with real life myself.  It's not just the autism or the bipolar depression: sometimes just the everyday is just too much.  I've still got more game ideas, but they're probably not going to see the light of day.   I've got character concepts that fall into the same situation; either because they (and/or the system) are simply too esoteric.

RPOL is and has been a good place; because of the work of Jase and others.  I've been here for a very long time, since close to when the site opened.  And even if I put everything else aside, this is one place I'll always feel comfortable.

I'm sure it's been said numerous times already, but I don't think PbP has ever been a main stream medium.  It's always existed to fit the needs/wants of a niche market...gamers who want to play, but who either lack the local contacts to set up a group or whose schedules don't allow for 'regular' gaming (or both).

That niche isn't quite as broad as it used to be, thanks to Discord and similar options...but even though I've been in several games on here that used Discord as part of their gameplay, I've never utilized it.  Discord requires coordinating schedules with other players, and my schedule is erratic during good weeks and nigh impossible during bad ones.  People like me will stick with PbP for the simple fact that nothing else fits our needs for a gaming fix.  As long as that niche exists, PbP will exist in some form (since RPOL seems to do a far superior job, as far as 'scratching the itch' to play, compared to other sites, I suspect it will be the preferred form of PbP for a long, long time to come.)

Honestly, we've had chat almost as long as we've had Play-by-Post (Play-by-Mail admittedly predates it by a bit), so I doubt Discord has had any impact at all.  All Discord has done is usurp the prior preferred text/voice chat setups, which go all the way back to IRC in '88.

Mainstream or not, I'm glad it exists. My irregular schedule makes live games unfeasible for me.

I have just recalled my first play by post game, possibly around 1990.  I didn't last long in it but it involved describing your characters actions and submitting your rolls in an letter and then popping it in an envelope and posting to a GM.  They would then type out a response and mail it back to you every couple of weeks depending on the responses of the players.

In reply to bazhsw (msg # 31):

I ran one of those via email. Actually worked pretty good as I had two separate players in the same setting that encountered each other at the end.

My first online games were in chatrooms, on AOL and IRC, in the early 1990s.

What's relatively new about VTTs, is the visual element - the "tabletop" part, where you have a map, and everyone can move their token around on it.  Especially now, with dynamic lighting and LOS calculations, so there's no more "can I see the creature at X" questions: if you can see it on your screen, then yes, <i>you can see it in the game, too<i>.

I think the thing is for me with this format is, games take WAY too long to actually finish.

    I have been on here for years and have played in many games. Some of them have taken over a year and more of posting to actually end, if they even MAKE it to the end. That is a LONG time to be in involved in something.

    In that time I sometimes just get bored, lose interest, even forget to post because something else gets me busy. I will even admit I forget the game exists if it has been going on a REALLY long time and the posting is slow.

   With things like Discord and VTT sessions, the games are usually on a set schedule and more gets done in the time you do play. That makes it easier to remember about them and not rely on people remembering to post to keep the game going. The games will also finish much faster and are more likely to have an ending.

 So each has its benefits and lucky for us, both are available to fit our current needs. ;-)

I rarely play a game intending for it to 'finish'...I think I've only ever done it maybe three or four times, and only once on here.  And that one, I was actually kind of annoyed when the GM declared it 'done'...I understood why, but I was ready to keep going with those characters and find some new adventures for them.  I'm in a couple of games on here that have been running for a decade or more and while we have some idea of where the game will end, we have absolutely no idea how long it will take us to get there.

I played and GMed on this site from 2001-2019, 18 years of mostly great games and memorable roleplaying moments.

The reason I stopped: with the popularity of D&D 5e, it's easy to find face-to-face games in English (I live in Switzerland)

Many fond memories, and still check the site regularly, but with only a limited amount of time to devote to RPGs I get more bang for my buck playing round a table.

I'm the flip side of the coin from Swiss Vinny. Table top games dried up and that drove me to PbP. Been here less than a year but I'm playing multiple games and absolutely loving it. So thrilled to have found this place.

Yeah...most people I know who game live an hour or so away from me, or they've already got so many people in their games that I feel awkward being invited into the game.  And I have weird, irregular schedule issues...I've been working weekends for the last two months.  I'm working every Wednesday night.  When I start working on my next show, I'll be busy pretty much every night for most of a month.  It makes things difficult for face-to-face gaming...

But PbP?  Doesn't matter what time I get done with shows, I can respond.  I can post at work on Wednesday nights.  The "whenever you've got free time" nature of PbP is the only reason I still game at all.

In reply to facemaker329 (msg # 38):

I have a distinctive lack of transportation, which makes finding...nevermind regularly attending...tabletop nearly impossible.

I see a slowdown in getting new players but I don't feel that PBP like we have here will ever die.  As for my games I plan no end for them they are all ongoing freeform stories that we all weave together.  I have seen some go to Discord and what is right for one is not what works for others so there is no Yes or no.  It comes in waves and always has.  Great site, Great Player, and Great GMs so what more could one ask for?

I had   437... Skald  got a pretty  pin point  as to my start date as ... "Before 08:00, Sun 23 Oct 2005".  Old school.  ;>

above is from when Skald was tellind

 people when they started here. For the first  3 years i just played..games  died  one game is running , but  the GM has a  tough schedule and the players, are alot like mine, scattered across the  real world.

 I started  GMing  around 2008, all my games still run.here  are what  i figure , is the Strength  of PBP is.

1.... as  Facemaker said.. you get on  and post as you are able. this is not a  medium where you can lock your players into.

2...As Lady said, there  is a slowing of new players, but tis is an Ebb and flow of time, and  even outside   influences ( Movies, Books , TV  shows ) i went  months without a RTJ and maybe one or two that didn't bother to  follow up after the interview... then 'bang'  a few new players in  each game. its the Ebb and flow.

3...::chuckles::  wait until the D&D movie comes out? The boards  will be flooded  with new  and/or resurrected  fantasy games


 last bit of advice? If you are looking for a game  with an  'end' look foir games  that advertise  modules , or even arena games

 if you want  solid lasting RP, look for campaigns.

It isn't mainstream, it won't ever be mainstream. Interestingly enough in person games have reached critical mass in the mainstream. There is room for a PBP as a niche interest, and that's okay.

This, for me, is the single best thing about RPoL.

I'm old. I've had to juggle kids, jobs with weird hours, travel, all of those things that regularly contribute to an inability to do /anything/ (not just game!) on a regular, set schedule. I can't even manage to regularly watch a single TV show without relying on a DVR.

PbP is great. Without it, I'd have no gaming at all.

You said it perfectly for me SunRuanEr. Exactly my case.

Ditto!

They can finish much faster. My Discord+VTT game has just entered its 4th year; and the end is still much further away than I expected it would be by this point!

Once ran an Amber game on here.  Figured it would last a year or two.

Then five maybe.

Finished up lasting 14 years, with some of the original cast in at the end, and a successful conclusion to the story (ie: the PCs found a way to end a war, and save the whole Universe from destruction).

Daamn, now that's the kind of success story I can only aspire to.

I have a Star Trek game on another site that has been going strong since 2009. That said, we're only on our 15th episode (13 in the first season), although I have outlines ready for another dozen.

We started with Decipher's CODA system and moved to Modiphius' Star Trek Adventures once it had been published. One of my players contributes official content for the current game.

all 3 of my games have been around for  a while, the space game is closing in on 12 years, the other  two games  are up there   as well, so it will be a couple years before i catch that '14".

  If you stick to runnign your game, and you gather good players, it  can go on and on.

In reply to Hunter (msg # 1):

I don't think it's ever been mainstream.

But I do think it meets the definition of cult following. :D

In time, it may see a renaissance.